In
contrast to Lydia Little's formal and stylized sampler, Hannah
Storer's marking sampler exemplifies the more accessible demands
of its genre, well suited to the talents of an eight year
old. Worked in simple cross and satin stitches on a linen
background, Hannah's piece features geometric floral borders,
an alphabet, and verses, as well as information identifying
her as the maker. The verses are typical of the maxims found
on samplers of the era:
In prosperity friends will be plenty; but
in adversity not one in twenty.
Behold alass our days we spend how vain they be how soon they
end.
The
two men in the lower portion of her sampler represent the
biblical story of the spies of Canaan, in which Moses sent
Joshua and Caleb into Canaan. This and other biblical themes,
such as Adam and Eve, appear frequently on samplers, evidence
of the distinctly religious and moral bent to girls' educations
at the time.
Hannah,
born May 22, 1739, was the daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Storer
of Boston. Her father was a successful merchant, as well as
a justice of the peace. She enjoyed a privileged upbringing
in Boston and later moved to Wendell, Mass., as the wife of
Joshua Green. Clues about her life appear in the papers of
her grandson Samuel Abbot Green at the Massachusetts Historical
Society. The collection includes genealogical information,
such as manuscript records concerning her birth and marriage,
as well as her correspondence with various friends and family
members, including letters to and from Abigail Smith, later
Abigail Adams.
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